During a Committee of the Whole meeting on February 19th, city councillors managed to come to a decision regarding the location of a new recreation facility in Grande Prairie.
The project has been ongoing for several years; however, it wasn’t until Swan City FC came forward to the city to discuss the significant increase in enrollment they saw in 2023, accelerated the city’s desire to see the project through.
“The fact they were turning away hundreds of kids, it’s always a concern in a community that continues to grow and has such a young population,” Mayor Jackie Clayton says. “Council has been working on this project for a while now, finding the right location is extremely important, there’s at least half a dozen sites that have been explored over the years, and council’s intent has always been to get this facility done, it’s about finding the right location.”
“Now through significant work that administration has done, we have a site that appears that council is interested in, and that will come into discussion and debate on Monday.”
The front-runner location for the new facility has been Avondale North for quite some time; however, city administrators identified several key challenges in the area such as limited space for expansion, the “complexity” of land ownership, and cost, prompting the city to choose Trader Ridge instead.
“This location in particular provides an opportunity for an area of the community that is available for development,” Clayton says. “When the consideration was in other locations, it would have significantly impacted adjacent property owners, adjacent businesses, and this being slightly removed from the core and heart of our city, I think although you will see the facility at a distance, it will not be something in the middle of the city that is really impeding views or impeding skyline or sun.”
“I think this location being up on a little bit of a hill on the perimeter of our community provides that space and distance that people were looking for.”
The proposed facility is 135K square feet in size, will have the capacity to host a FIFA-regulation soccer pitch, and will function as a multi-sport facility. Clayton explains the need for such a space comes from several factors including the city’s continued growth, the desire for cold-weather recreation opportunities, and the city’s dedication to hosting provincial, and national-level sporting competitions.
“Being in a winter city, we’re always looking for an opportunity to keep people active, while potentially removing them from the cold, so I think this will be an asset for many years to come that the community is very proud to have,” she says. “It will increase our opportunities for national-type competitions and it will really support the growing and young community that we continue to be.”
“We know that when people visit our community, if they visit twice, they’re more likely to move here, so if people come to our community for a soccer or football competition and they like the community, they’ll come back,” she adds.
While the committee approved sending the idea to council, the proposal is still up for debate, and it is expected the city will come to its ultimate decision during its Monday night meeting on February 24th.
